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A scoping review finds a growing trend in studies validating multimorbidity patterns and identifies five broad types of validation methods

Thamer Ba Dhafari Orcid Logo, Alexander Pate Orcid Logo, Narges Azadbakht, Rowena Bailey, Jim Rafferty Orcid Logo, Farideh Jalali-najafabadi, Glen P. Martin, Abdelaali Hassaine Orcid Logo, Ashley Akbari Orcid Logo, Jane Lyons, Alan Watkins Orcid Logo, Ronan Lyons Orcid Logo, Niels Peek Orcid Logo

Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, Volume: 165, Start page: 111214

Swansea University Authors: Rowena Bailey, Jim Rafferty Orcid Logo, Ashley Akbari Orcid Logo, Jane Lyons, Alan Watkins Orcid Logo, Ronan Lyons Orcid Logo

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Abstract

Objectives: Multimorbidity, the presence of two or more long-term conditions, is a growing public health concern. Many studies use analytical methods to discover multimorbidity patterns from data. We aimed to review approaches used in published literature to validate these patterns.Study design and...

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Published in: Journal of Clinical Epidemiology
ISSN: 0895-4356
Published: Elsevier BV 2024
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa65170
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Abstract: Objectives: Multimorbidity, the presence of two or more long-term conditions, is a growing public health concern. Many studies use analytical methods to discover multimorbidity patterns from data. We aimed to review approaches used in published literature to validate these patterns.Study design and setting: We systematically searched PubMed and Web of Science for studies published between July 2017 and July 2023 that used analytical methods to discover multimorbidity patterns.Results: Out of 31,617 studies returned by the searches, 172 were included. Of these, 111 studies (64%) conducted validation, the number of studies with validation increased from 53.13% (17 out of 32 studies) to 71.25% (57 out of 80 studies) in 2017-2019 to 2022-2023, respectively. Five types of validation were identified: assessing the association of multimorbidity patterns with clinical outcomes (n = 79), stability across subsamples (n = 26), clinical plausibility (n = 22), stability across methods (n = 7) and exploring common determinants (n = 2). Some studies used multiple types of validation.Conclusion: The number of studies conducting a validation of multimorbidity patterns is clearly increasing. The most popular validation approach is assessing the association of multimorbidity patterns with clinical outcomes. Methodological guidance on the validation of multimorbidity patterns is needed.
Keywords: Analytical method; Cluster analysis; Latent class analysis; Multimorbidity; Scoping review; Validation.
College: Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences
Start Page: 111214